San Miguel de Allende, MexicoOctober 29 - November 4, 2003
with Eric Renner and Nancy Spencer
during Day of the Dead Festivities
   Dancers in front of La Parroqia
Women washing clothes in the civic facilities
 Graves in the public graveyard
Join us in the vibrant colonial town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, for a pinhole / zone plate workshop during the Mexican holidays of All Saint's Day (Nov. 1) and Day of the Dead (Nov. 2).
San Miguel de Allende is a wonderfully picturesque colonial town dating back 400 years and is located in the mountains 3 hours northwest of Mexico City with mild temperatures in the 70s in November. The population is approximately 100,000 - 5,000 or so are Americans who live there year round. Because of its beautiful unique stone architecture and ancient cobblestone streets, Mexico designated the town a historic monument in 1926. It has attracted artists and international travelers for decades. Come enjoy a small city where there are no stop-lights and no shop signs extending out from the buildings! San Miguel de Allende is truly a special place that has retained the ancient flavor of Mexico while having upscale shops and restaurants!
WORKSHOP:
This pinhole / zone plate workshop is geared toward those of us who want to be able to travel, photograph and develop 35mm, 120mm or 4"x5" black and white negatives anywhere in the world. Participants wishing to work in color can have 35mm developed in local photo shops (1 hour processing). This workshop is not well suited for participants who want to make paper negatives, although participants will be able to make contact prints of their negatives. Along with daily photographing with your pinhole or zone plate cameras we will talk about the technical aspects of pinhole - how to make pinholes, types of cameras available, exposure methods, how zone plates work, developing zone plate negatives, common problems encountered making pinhole images, etc. We try to tailor the workshop to the needs of the participants. You can work with a variety of pinhole techniques, including multiple pinhole imaging, slit imaging, and zone plates, which are soft-focus diffraction imaging devices somewhat similar to pinhole. We will show slides from the Pinhole Resource collection and look at the work of the participants. Bring your pinhole images (slides or prints) to share if possible. Rough prints are fine if you don't want to risk damaging good prints. We will work with participants to help develop a body of work, discuss issues of content and photographing in another culture.
 Statue of Jesus in the Templo de Neustra Senora de la Salud
 Hillside view of San Miguel
TRANSPORTATION:
Transportation to San Miguel de Allende is extremely easy - it's only a 2 hour flight from Dallas (and takes 30,000 frequent flyer miles on American Airlines), landing in Leon, Mexico, a small airport 1-1/2 hours from San Miguel de Allende. From Leon, transportation is by shuttle van (approx. $27 per person, one way) which will deliver you directly to the hotel. San Miguel de Allende and Dallas, Texas, are in the same time zone. Reservations can be made with a shuttle company ahead of time and they will be waiting for you after you come through customs. The van service we recommend is Viajes de San Miguel and their email is
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They speak English and answer their email promptly.
Or you can rent a car at the Leon airport. The hotel where we suggest you stay has a large inside parking area. Generally in the city it is difficult to find a parking place. Everything within the historic district is in easy walking distance, so a car is not really necessary.
Transportation from Mexico City is by van 9 times daily, (a 3 hour trip), and costs $50 one way. Contact the above listed travel service.
 Donkeys on the street
 Hotel Posada de Las Monjas
HOTEL:
We suggest that workshop participants stay at the Hotel Posada de Las Monjas, Canal #37, only 3 blocks from the Jardin, which is the main plaza. Rooms are approximately $38 a night (single or double occupancy). Their website is: www.posadalasmonjas.com
phone: 011 (415) 152-0171
The hotel is run by Jose Lopez who speaks English and is on the desk 7-9Am and 6-10PM (US central time).
 La Parroqia at night
DARKROOM:
Participants will be able to develop film and evaluate the quality of their negatives in a large room that we have rented at the hotel with 24 hour access. Printing your negatives can be done later at home. And who wants to spend a lot of time in a darkroom in a place as beautiful and exciting as San Miguel de Allende?
FIELD TRIP:
Included in the price of the workshop, is an all-day field trip to the historic mining ghost town of Pozos, 40 miles from San Miguel de Allende. Pozos is rich in historic ruins of a gold and silver mine which closed in 1910. The buildings left standing are open to the public and are a photographer's dream. If time permits we will make a trip to Guanajuato, with its unique historic center.
 Nancy Spencer photographing at Pozos
 Wall and landscape at Pozos
 Entrance to gold mine
 Abandoned building at Pozos
MEALS:
San Miguel de Allende has incredibly fine international restaurants at very economical prices. |
